Schools shut in GBissau as teachers strike

BISSAU: Secondary schools were closed Monday around the capital of Guinea- Bissau after three teachers’ unions launched a 30day strike over unpaid salaries and working conditions in the West African country.

The strike action in Bassau, called for by the National Union of Teachers, the Democratic Union of Teachers and the Union of Higher Education, affected some secondary schools but primary schools stayed open, an AFP correspondent said.

“We were technically ready for the start of classes... but the teachers have not come,” said director Samuel Fernandes Manda of the Antonio Agostinho Neto school.

For several years teachers in Guinea-Bissau, one of the world’s poorest countries, have been demanding the payment of unpaid salaries, the development of career plans and an improvement in their working conditions.

After a two-week strike last year, the teachers signed an agreement with the government to align their salary scale with the West African Economic and Monetary Union, but union member say the deal has not been respected.

“The government has not honoured its commitments, including the payment of salaries of temporary teachers and the implementation of career plans... We have no choice but to strike,” said Malam Cassama, interim president of the National Union of Teachers. — AFP

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